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Morton Church of Christ |
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Vival ( Isaiah
57:14-16 ISA
57:15 For
this is what the high and lofty One says-- he who lives forever,
whose name is holy: "I live in a high and holy place, but
also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the
spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. What is your
response to the presence of the Lord? (His
name is: I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will
have compassion on whom I will have compassion…"The LORD,
the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger,
abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love
to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he
does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children
and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and
fourth generation." )Ex.33:19b,
34:6-7 (see Ex.20:5 for sins punished)
I understand that God is as His name implies; merciful,
compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love,
faithful, and forgiving and I rely on that to be true. But I must
not, nor should you forget that this same loving God is also the
one who will punish. It is not a healthy attitude to flaunt ones
wickedness before Him who is Holy all the wile dancing and
praising Him for His mercy and grace. He truly wants
His children to be holy, to hate sin and wickedness, especially
there own. David demonstrates in Psalm 40 the heart of one who is
contrite. (Contrite
= penitent, repentant ) c)2000
Zane Publishing, Inc. and Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.
All rights reserved. David cries out to God for mercy recognizing his own shortcomings. His plea – “Be pleased to, O Lord, to save me: O Lord, come quickly to help me.” And “Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay.” (verse 13 and 17 ) We should praise God for His mercies and His grace but never should we not remember our failure to meet His high standard. PS
40:16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation
always say, "The
LORD be exalted!" Revival
implies that one was once before vival (Ok vival isn’t a word!)
If revival is take place in the hearts and lives of God’s
people then they must come before God with the right heart. We
must be vivified before we can be revivified, which is to be made
alive and that by God; the one and only life giver and sustainer.
Why would we expect
anyone to want to come here to worship? Why would we expect the
heathen, unsaved, un-regenerated masses of humanity around us to
want to come here to worship? If our God and Lord Jesus is not
among us when we gather together, then what are we doing here?
Do we come hoping that He’ll show up? What would you do
If He did? The words
of Isaiah are true - "I
live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite
and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to
revive the heart of the contrite.”
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